Safety device for ladders



March 7,1939. LEISER 2,149,781

SAFETY DEVICE FOR LADDERS Filed Nov. 2, 1937 Q71 .Zaisefl INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 7, 1939 SAFETY DEVICE FOR LADDERS Henry Leiser, Denver,(3010., assignor to Dorothy R. Atler and Anne Leiser ApplicationNovember 2, 1937, Serial No. 172,421

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an attachment designed'for use with ladders,the primary object of the invention being to provide means to brace theladder with which the device is used, against lateral movement due tohigh wind pressure, or under the weight of the person standing on theladder.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of means toprevent the lower end of the ladder from slipping away from the buildingor structure against which the ladder is leaning, due to excessiveweight on the ladder, vibration of the ladder, or should the lower endof the ladder be placed too far away from the structure against whichthe ladder is placed.

Still another object of the invention is to brace the ladder when theladder is placed against a weak structure.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein described, may be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure MS a fragmental perspective view illustrating a ladder equippedwith an attachment, constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of one of the securing members employed insecuring the device to the ladder.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view thereof.

Figure 4 is a'sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 2, one of thesupporting legs of the attachment, being shown as positioned in thebracket or securing device.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the ladder on which the attachmentis shown as mounted, is indicated generally by the reference character5, the ladder being shown as having its lower end as positioned inspaced relation with a structure, against which the ladder ispositioned.

The attachment comprises a pair of supporting members, and since thesesupporting members are identical in construction, only one of thesupporting members will be herein described in detail.

Each sup-porting member includes a base plate indicated by the referencecharacter 6, and a tubular portion 1 formed integral therewith, thetubular portion 1 being disposed at oblique angles vibrations of theladder.

, character I l with respect to the side edges of the plate 6, asclearly shown by the drawing. Due to this construction, the' plate 6 ofthe securing device may be secured to the outer face of the side rail ofa ladder structure, and the tubular portion 1 there- 6 of will bedisposed in such position that it will support the adjustable legmember, associated therewith, at an oblique angle with respect to theside rail of the ladder.

Although the tubular section 1 is formed in- 10 tegral with the plate 6,a web indicated by the reference character 8 is formed between thetubular section I and plate 6. As shown by Figure 3 of the drawing, theweb 8 is substantially wide near one end of the tubular member 1, andtapers towards the opposite end of the tubular member with the resultthat the opposite end of the tubular member is disposed in closerelation with the plate 6. Due to this construction, the tubular portion1 is supported in an inclined position, with the result that the legmembers, which in the present showing are indicated by the referencecharacter 9, and which are held within the supporting members, aredisposed at oblique angles with respect to the front and rear edges ofthe side rails of the ladder, the lower ends of the leg members 9 beingspread apart, to brace the ladder against lateral movement, caused bywind pressure, excessive weight on the ladder, and

A screw indicated by the reference character I 9, extends through athreaded opening injthe tubular section 1, and is adapted to engage theleg member 9 associated therewith.

An operating handle indicated by the reference extends through anopening I2 formed in the screw, and affords means whereby the screw maybe rotated to engage or disengage the leg member, as the case may be.

From the foregoing it will be seen that due to the construction shownand described, the leg members 9 of the attachment may be moved tovarious angles with respect to the ladder, bracing the ladder againstlateral movement or movement away from the building against which it ispositioned.

It might be further stated that due to this construction, the ladderequipped with an attachment as described, may be supported on an unevensurface, by adjusting the leg members 9 with respect to each other, tocompensate for the irregular surface.

Bolts indicated by the reference character [3 extend through openingsin' the plate 6, and pass through openings in the side rails of theladder 55 w the base plate and connecting the tubular member with thebase plate, said Web being wide at one end and narrow at the other endwhereby the tubular member is inclined with respect to the side rail ofthe ladder, a bracing leg member slidable through the tubular member, ascrew movable through the tubular member and adapted to engage thebracing leg adjustably securing the bracing leg within the tubularmember.

HENRY LEISER.

